


In Need of A Friend

by elliseleven (orphan_account)



Category: NSA Intern (Video Game), NoStranger (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Mild Spoilers, for both fandoms, hospital visits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25169971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/elliseleven
Summary: As if drawn to each other by fate, Lincoln and Pepper crossed paths while visiting their respective loved ones in hospital. Their meeting might just be the thing both of them need - a friend.
Relationships: Adam Verdu/Pepper June, Lincoln Julison & Pepper June, Lincoln Julison/Glassy





	In Need of A Friend

Lincoln checked his phone for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He knew that Glassy needed space. He couldn’t blame them, considering what he had said before, but it was hard not to talk to someone who meant so much to you. He felt awful about upsetting them but, then again, what he'd said had some truth to it. 

He sighed. That didn’t matter at the moment. Regardless of how true this was, it had upset Glassy, and he needed to focus on sorting that out. That would need to wait though. In the meantime, he had to prepare to see his mom in the hospital.

The two of them had never had the best relationship, so he wasn’t even sure if she wanted to see him. Honestly, he didn’t particularly want to see her either, but Glassy had convinced him that it was a good idea. He just hoped they were right.

The drive to the hospital was uneventful, but Lincoln couldn’t get rid of the lump in his throat. He had no idea how this was going to turn out or if his mom would even talk to him, especially since he refused to visit more than a few times before now. He hoped she would forgive him.

“Hi, I’m here to see Grace Julison. I’m her son.” Lincoln had rehearsed this so many times in his head as he drove there. Thankfully, he didn’t mess up as he was worried he might.

The receptionist looked something up on her computer then she looked back to him and smiled. “Of course. She’s just down the corridor to the left. She’s in room 12.”

“Thank you.”

He turned away from the reception desk and caught the eye of a girl sitting in the waiting area. She was biting on her lip, holding her hands in her lap. He felt better that he wasn’t the only one worrying so much. He wondered who she was here for and what had happened for her to be so anxious.

The girl noticed him looking and gave him a weak smile. Lincoln didn’t really feel like smiling much, but he made sure to return it. The moment was over as soon as it had happened, but both of them felt a little more at ease afterwards.

“Pepper June?” 

Lincoln heard the receptionist call out someone’s name. He turned around and saw the girl he had smiled at stood up in response to that name. As he turned back to walk away, he couldn't help but think about her and how worried she had been. He hoped she was alright.

Pepper was pushed to the back of his mind, however, as he walked into room 12. His mom looked so helpless, he noticed, as he passed several beds to find her. The knot in his stomach tightened.

At first, it was quite awkward. Neither of them could remember the last time they had a proper conversation at all, let alone in a situation like this. Lincoln had moved out as soon as he was able to, so it had been some years. But as time wore on, it became a little easier to talk. His mom mostly asked questions since she didn’t have much she could talk about, and Lincoln answered them. He told her that he had found an internship (he didn’t disclose where, and she didn’t push him on that subject, to his relief) and that he was dating someone. 

“Oh, that’s brilliant, Lincoln! Is it someone I know?”

Lincoln shook his head, wondering if he should tell her the whole truth. He decided against it. He didn’t know how she would react. “No. It’s kind of… um, it’s unconventional, shall we say?”

“Oh, who gives a fuck about that?”

Lincoln was taken aback by his mom’s bluntness. It wasn’t common for her to swear, especially in front of him, and it sounded as if she actually supported his relationship. He hadn’t expected that when he walked into the room, that’s for sure.

Apparently, she had more to say. “Don’t give a shit about what anyone says about something that works for you. They’re not you.”

Lincoln nodded. He fully agreed with her, but it was a shock to him that she had agreed so easily. He felt tears well up in his eyes and prayed that she wouldn’t say anything if he started to cry.

Through his blurred vision, he saw his mom smile and hold her arms wide for a hug. That just made him cry more. He couldn’t remember the last time he had hugged her.

They parted ways on a positive note. Lincoln promised that he would visit more often, and Grace seemed to be happy about that. She hadn’t mentioned anything, but Lincoln could tell that she had been disappointed that it took him so long to see her.

Lincoln left the hospital room with a smile on his face. He felt happy that he had made some sort of peace with his mom, and he could tell Glassy all about it when he got home. He hoped they would appreciate that he told her about their relationship too, despite him being vague.

His smile was quickly wiped off his face though. Standing outside the hospital doors was a familiar face, and she had clearly been crying.

Lincoln stopped without meaning to. They didn’t even know each other, and yet he was inclined to help. He stood there for a moment, not knowing how to best talk to the girl when she looked over.

She looked him up and down until something clicked in her brain. She raised an eyebrow. “You’re that guy from earlier.”

Lincoln laughed awkwardly, just glad that he wasn’t the one to start the conversation. “Yep, that’s me. I recognize you too. Pepper, wasn’t it?”

She seemed surprised at his question. “Why do you know my name?”

“I heard the receptionist call out your name, and you stood up.”

Pepper smiled. “Very perceptive of you.”

He shrugged. “I guess so. Um...” Lincoln trailed off. Was he being too forward? He shrugged off the worry. He wanted to know if she was okay. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Lincoln wasn’t happy with that answer. “You don’t look it.”

Pepper laughed. “You’re really persistent, aren’t you? You kinda remind me of… Um, never mind.”

Lincoln was about to ask who she was talking about, but he stopped himself. It was none of his business. Besides, they were strangers. She didn’t owe him anything.

“So who were you here to see?” Pepper asked, hoping to change the subject.

“My mom. She’s really sick. I almost didn’t come today though.”

Pepper looked genuinely interested. “Why is that?”

“We’ve never got on well. We were better today, and I’m happy about that, but I think that it’ll take a long time for us to get along.”

Pepper nodded. Her relationship with her mom was different from his, but she understood not getting along with someone. “It’ll take time, but I’m sure you two will get to a place where you’re both happy.”

Lincoln smiled. He didn’t expect her to say something like that, but he was grateful she did. He didn’t talk about his family life to many people, so he was glad she understood. “So, what about you?” He asked. “Who were you visiting?”

Pepper knew this question would come eventually. She took a deep breath to prepare herself. “My boyfriend. We got into an argument.”

“Woah. How… bad was it?”

Pepper shook her head and turned away. “I don’t want to talk about it. I feel like it’s my fault.”

Lincoln reached out to touch her shoulder but thought better of it. Again, he reminded himself they were strangers. He didn’t know what to say. Empty words came to mind, but those wouldn’t be of any help here. From what he could see, she probably wouldn’t believe them.

Pepper sniffed quietly to herself and used her sleeve to wipe away her forming tears. She cleared her throat before speaking. “I should go home. My dad’s waiting for me. If I’m honest, he doesn’t even know I’m out. He doesn’t want me seeing my boyfriend, but I would have felt guilty if I hadn’t visited.”

Lincoln nodded. He wanted to talk to Pepper more, but he knew she needed some time alone. It also seemed that she had some personal stuff to work through. He wondered if he was prying too much. “Alright. You should be getting back then.”

“It was nice meeting you though,” she smiled.

Lincoln returned the smile. He was glad that he was able to open up to her, and he hoped she felt the same way. “You too.”

He watched Pepper leave then checked his phone. Nothing once again. Lincoln sighed. He just hoped that Glassy wouldn’t stay mad at him forever. He pocketed his phone and decided he should be leaving too. It would be easier to process everything that had gone on once he was home.

* * *

Lincoln let out a sigh of relief as he finally sat down on his sofa. He hadn’t been out for long, but he was still grateful to be home. He opened up his phone again to no notifications.

“Of course. Why did I even bother?” 

On autopilot, he decided to check the app, Kindred Spirits, and see if anyone on there wanted to talk to him instead. He was getting tired of being alone.

Lincoln had used the app before and had matched with a few people, but there was no one who wanted to talk to him, really. All of his conversations ended up falling flat in one way or another. There was this one guy who wanted help with his writing project. He had started off friendly, and they talked about menial things for a while. But soon, it seemed he grew tired of that. Once the guy started talking about his project, Lincoln could tell straight away that he was bullshitting. It was kind of hard to see how anyone believed him. Despite this, he still kept him as a contact on his phone along with other matches. There was really no point since he was never going to talk to any of them again, but he couldn’t bring himself to delete them. He didn’t need reminding that he didn’t have any friends apart from work colleagues.

A new window popped up as the app loaded with a few people ‘you may know’.

Lincoln laughed to himself. “I highly doubt that.”

He began scrolling anyway and, surprisingly, he was proven wrong. Someone caught his eye.

Within seconds, he had clicked on her profile and the app was trying to match with her. It took a while, but in the end, it looked like she had accepted.

_Hey. You’re hospital guy, right?_

Lincoln laughed at that. He had hoped she would at least remember his name, especially since it was right there on his profile. 

_Lincoln, but yes, I’m hospital guy. Nice to meet you, hospital girl._

Pepper giggled. She was glad that he was running with her joke. Adam was never like that. It was tiring sometimes trying to talk to someone who took everything so seriously. He had never been like that before, but as he became more comfortable with her, he let his true colours show.

_Yep. It’s a pretty awesome coincidence that you’re on here. You must be someone I’m friends with on here._

Lincoln frowned. He didn’t know Pepper at all, so how could he know anyone she knew? He shrugged. It probably wasn’t important.

_I don’t know. It’s nice to see you though. My phone’s been dry all day, if I’m honest._

Pepper couldn’t relate in the slightest. Adam liked to text her a lot. Too much, in fact. She wished she could swap with Lincoln for a day. She voiced her thoughts about this after some hesitation. Lincoln was just as nice as Adam used to be. It was hard to trust him.

Lincoln was immediately reminded of someone. He scowled as the memory came back to him. The writer guy or whoever he was would constantly message him until Lincoln said he wasn't interested. He became furious and left the chat shortly after blowing up Lincoln’s phone, despite Lincoln being cordial with him. Not a very nice man, Lincoln had decided. He hoped that she didn’t mean him.

_There was this one guy I talked to on here who would text me constantly, asking me how I was and what I was up to. It was like he couldn’t go two seconds without texting me. Then he asked me to work on a project of his and when I declined, he got really angry and left the chat. Is this the same guy we’re talking about?_

Pepper read this and her heart leapt in her chest. He couldn’t be talking about Adam, could he? She almost didn’t want to ask, but she had to know.

_Was his name Adam?_

_I think so._

Pepper had to put her phone down to put her head in her hands. To think that he had talked to him too was sickening. She was almost glad that he left him alone when she did. She would never want anyone else to go through what she went through. A small selfish part of her, however, wished that he had chosen someone else over her.

She hadn’t wanted to reveal to Lincoln that Adam was her boyfriend earlier at the hospital, but now, there was no way she was telling him. Lincoln knew what Adam was like, so he would definitely judge her for staying with him. As if it was easy to leave someone like that…

But it turned out that Lincoln had figured this out already. _Is he your boyfriend by any chance? Adam sounds like the kind of person to get into the kind of fight that leads to a hospital visit._

Pepper tried to stop herself from crying. She didn’t want to talk about Adam or anything to do with him. 

Lincoln saw that she wasn’t typing, so he decided to leave that topic for now. If she didn’t want to talk about this, she didn’t have to. From what he could see, this was a very sensitive topic. He didn’t want to leave things on a negative note though.

_Hey, you don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want to. To be honest, I’d prefer not to talk about him either. I just want to let you know that if there is anything you do want to talk about, you can always talk to me. I know I’m just a stranger, but I’m a good listener. You don’t have to, of course, but the invitation is there if you ever want to talk._

Pepper couldn’t stop herself from smiling. She had her dad and best friend, of course, but sometimes, she felt like she was annoying to them. It was as if all she did was complain. They never said anything, of course, but that was because they were nice people. She wasn't comfortable talking to many other people, so to know that she could go to Lincoln if she needed was amazing news.

_Wow, thank you. That means a lot to me. Like, it really does! I’ll keep that in mind, and if you need to talk about anything too, I’m happy to listen. I’m not very good at advice though, so you might have to go somewhere else if you need that._

Lincoln smiled. He agreed with her to some extent. _I understand that. Sometimes, I just need to vent, so I wouldn’t need any advice in that case._

He stopped typing, wondering whether to continue. He decided to do so. Pepper had talked about her personal life, albeit not very much, but he thought that maybe she would be able to trust him more if he was more open.

_My relationship isn’t perfect. Sometimes, I just need to talk to someone about it. I don’t have many people I can talk to, so I would appreciate that a lot._

Knowing that she was helping someone meant a lot to Pepper. She felt for a long time that she was a burden, so seeing this message on her phone as proof of the opposite made her happy.

The two of them talked for a long while, mostly about their respective jobs and what they did for fun. It was nice for them to just talk to someone with no expectations. Neither of them had felt that for a long time. It was refreshing.

Lincoln realized that it had grown dark in his apartment, and he got up to turn on the light. He saw that as a cue to finish up this conversation. His stomach agreed as he realized it was time for dinner.

Pepper found herself feeling hungry too, so she didn’t object to this. It was sad that she wasn’t going to talk to him for a bit, but she knew it wouldn’t be forever. She hadn’t expected this, but she actually enjoyed talking to him.

A text from Adam came through on her phone, and she sighed. She could never tell him about her new friend. She didn’t want a repeat of last night, by any means.

Lincoln and Pepper said their goodbyes (or as Pepper liked to put it, their see ya’s), and went their separate ways.

Pepper made sure to ignore her phone, even when it went off a second time. She needed some space from Adam. She was glad she had also found that in talking to Lincoln too. For once, she could be herself. She was grateful she met him today.

At the same time, Lincoln knew that Glassy needed space from him, and it was easier now for him to accept that. He had texted him about the hospital visit, but nothing else. He didn't mention Pepper because he didn't want to shove too much information on them, but also he didn't want them to get the wrong idea. There was nothing between them, of course, but he felt as if Glassy might jump to conclusions if they were still upset. So he left it for the moment. He made a mental note to tell them later when things had cooled down.

Lincoln ventured into the kitchen to make himself dinner for one. For once, he didn't mind this. He knew that he had friends, no matter how far away they were.

He smiled to himself and hoped that, whatever she was going through, Pepper was smiling too.


End file.
